Salt, Sweat & Steam: The Fiery Education of an Accidental Chef

With mouthwatering storytelling and open-hearted honesty, Brigid Washington serves The Devil Wears Prada for the “yes, chef” generation.

“What truly makes Salt, Sweat & Steam exceptional is that it is told from the point of view of a young, female, Trinidadian student. It is a fascinating narrative that is a welcome addition to the list of coming-of-age tales.”–Jessica B. Harris, Ph.D. Professor emeritus Queens College/CUNY, Lecturer, culinary historian, and author of High on the Hog

Rich with detail, Salt, Sweat & Steam takes readers inside America’s top culinary school and shows what’s really required to become a chef: from brutal unpaid internships and gruelling practical exams to late-night vending machine dorm-room dinners while trudging through the rarefied world of fine wine. As editor of the school’s newspaper, “La Papillote” Washington, a Trinidadian, meets and interviews food-world luminaries such as Jerome Bocuse, Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller and savors the joys of a life devoted to food. She puts us all in her kitchen clogs as she finally achieves the perfect mise-en-place both in and out of the dignified kitchen of The Culinary Institute of America.

Unwilling to accept a future that was anything but delicious, readers follow along Washington’s high-octane journey through the rigors and rewards of the country’s most elite cooking school.

Author: Brigid Washington
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: 04/28/2026
Pages: 304
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 9.25h x 6.12w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781250333377
Language: English